The Sleeping Lady and the Whale

The Sleeping Lady and the WhalePage 1 of 2

"THE SLEEPING LADY AND THE WHALE"

EDITED BY: SANDY LIA THOMSON

AS TOLD BY: HANSOLOM SIKAIN

Once in Kosrae the small islet of Lelu, which outlined a monstrous whale, did not exist. Nor did the peaks of mountain that is presently form a sleeping lady. These features became prominent later during the time when an evil giant was trying to eat the people of Kosrae. The population by then began to decrease that the people tried migrating the island. There was a young lady who lived at that time but sadly she had no family and no one else to rely on. While everyone was leaving on their canoes, this lady remained on the island all by herself. At the same time, she was hiding herself from the giant. It was not long after that she got very hungry so she left her hideaway in search of foods.

On the shorelines near the coast, she spotted a monstrous whale stuck on the corals. Instead of helping the whale, she made a long rope out of “sra tol”. She tied one end of the rope to the whale’s tail and the other she tied to a small islet nearby called Pisin. By then the tide was low. The whale tried its very best to free itself but couldn’t not even when the tide was rising up. The whale lay there even until years and years later. It was during the very long time it was being tied up that it got very tired and passed away. On the other hand was the young lady, who herself was dying from starvation. In the meantime the giant had disappeared.

Years passed and grasses, ferns, trees, and everything grew on the carcass of the lady and the whale. The whale then formed an island, while the lady formed peaks of mountain. Later on, the people who left returned. For them, it was amazing to see such wonderful changes-that is the formation of the sleeping lady and the newly formed island of Lelu. They loved Lelu very much that they made it the capital of Kosrae. Until today there can be seen a lot of ‘sra tol’ at Pisin because it was there that the lady tied one end of the rope, which was made out of ‘sra tol’.